Michael's s13 Build

[blades13.5]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDrfiter22

I have no idea what to say, even with all your issues you kept moving forward but buying way more parts like thats going to help.....#wowyoungpplwannabecoolproblems!

I realize what ur saying but I want to prepare the car for amatuer drift events within the next year and a half or so. I have confidence the car will be running and I'll be financially set to deal with any problems within the next 3-4 months so I'm not really worried about it.

And of course I wanna be cool! That's the whole reason I buy performance parts.

[blades13.5]

UPDATE: 4/17/2013:Well I made it back to California safely.

The drive out consisted of snow in Minnesota, A blizzard in the mountains of Denver which left my car look like I let Nitro circus borrow the car, and sandstorms and really gusty winds in Socal and hail around Bakersfield.
Car after Denver:


Lol it took an hour but I squeegee washed it at a gas station before driving through utah. Pretty ghetto but it looked much better. I got the funniest looks.



I got to visit LA for the very first time and check out the college I've been wanting to go to since I was 8. Art Center College of Design in Pasadena for Car design. Such an amazing city and I wish i could've spent more time checking out LA but I'll do that soon. Dropped my car off at my friends. Were gonna be tearing out the engine this weekend and rebuilding parts of it. Main bearings, piston rings and a few other things. He mentioned pulling out the t3/t4 will give it a much better low end spool which would be better for drifting.

I also picked up a Sakura D3 CS RC car. Pretty fun to build.



With, of course, an appropriate body.



As promised, heres some pics of the parts that arrived.

My s13.4 Valvecover with some MA Motorsports Knuckles.
I was actually very impressed with both of these. Especially the quality on these knuckles. they're solid.



The power steering line that came in(was supposed to be for an SR. It had the same end as the old KA hardlines in the car AND the banjo bolt. I was hoping it would be different but my friend has a different power steering pump we'll be putting in.

And the 5-lug hubs are still out of stock so just waiting on shipping. I got a silvia tattoo as well which I'm waiting on getting filled in.



As always, I'll fill everybody in with pics of the rebuild.

I'll end the update with a picture of my car before we begin heart surgery.

[onevia drift]

Why did i not know about this thread?!?!!

Awww yeaaaa. Bump for bein a local 240 guru lol.
It's about time you came back to CA... Now I can show you how OG's drift.
Braaaaaap!

[blades13.5]

Whats up jake? Welcome to my build thread!.lol. alright now for some good stuff. Think i've had enough buying. Bought time i installed some of it, right? Right.

UPDATE 4/27/13:



My buddy tore down my engine yesterday, replaced the oil pump and oil pickup while i was at work.

Engine bay. Were gonna get this mess cleaned up once we see the engine run well.





My head:



The block after he installed the oil pump and s14 pickup.



Installing the clutch and flywheel. Were gonna be getting rid of the oil filter relocation kit. Just less headache.



Throwout bearing



A mess on the ground. lol



Lining up the tranny to the motor



Shaved off as much of that ol' Felpro gasket off as possible. Here comes the Cometic!



Screwing in the ARP Headstuds.



Installing the cams and getting everything aligned.



Re-aquenting the block to the head.



Installed the rocker arms and cam angle sensor.



First fitment of the S13.4 Valvecover. Lined up really well. Thing looks much better in person!



Lastly, we hooked it up to hear it crank.



I'm confident it'll star up tomorrow when we put everything back into the car. I'm soooooo excited to drive this thing! It's been years... honestly. sad to say but atleast ill be able to sell a bunch of my parts i don't need no more.

Estimated time of running?: Next couple days!!!

[blades13.5]

Update:5/25/13
Well, we finally finished the rebuild. With every rebuild, we ran across a few problems.


The very first problem we found was the aluminum Greddy oil drain pan was stripped by the drain plug. Normally, the solution was a simple retap and oversized plug. The issue we were worried about was that the walls of the lower oil pan were literally just a hair thicker than a quarter and a retap could equal the threads piercing through the sides of the pan and ruing the lower pan. Not being a fan of pansaver drain plugs, (garbage) I decided to cross my fingers and go through with it. Thank God I did. The retap went smoothly, and our first problem was solved. We also hooked up the voltage meter to the MAF sensor and found that the sensor was picking up signal but the return signal had no voltage so the computer want getting any signal back. Went through the harness, found the short and soldiered the wire together. Problem 2 solved.

I got to drive passenger in Ashton Hatton’s car at Tandem or Die V.3. S13 w/ RB20. It was a lot of fun only triggering my obsession even more. With that we were waiting for the Tags from MN to get shipped in, and they finally did. With John mentioning that he would have full confidence in it running perfectly by the drift event (Tandem or Die V.4 (Fresno)) I purchased a drivers pass, and I can honestly say I havn’t been more excited for anything in many years.



Vid of the car running for the very first time after the rebuild (Click picture+turn the sound up)



Vid of the car moving for the first time in over a year and a half during the test drive. (Click picture)



The tags came in on the 18th, allowing us to drive it on the streets and test everything out. It still ran badly. First thing we solved was the rich fuel. We replaced the 550cc injectors with some stock 370cc, and it ran smoother and finally spewed regular smoke rather than looking like a diesel truck. 2nd on the list was the ECU. First we tried the RS Enthalpy(will never be buying anything from them ever again). It had a hard time starting up but it idled and ran the best of all 3. Immediately I noticed the difference between the stage 2 clutch, and the Spec stage 3. It engaged nicer, almost smoother but when you wanted it pulled harder than a Mofo. LIKE. Second up was the AEM, just for kicks and Giggles. Didn’t start because it was tuned for a MAP sensor. Mmmm… one day. Lastly, We tried John’s stock Sr ecu. It started up like a dream, but idled very weird. Also, when I applied power, it didn’t do anything. Still, we couldn’t push the car too hard because there was only a tiny bit of break fluid and we had to use the ebrake to stop. Lol.
#Ghettolife. Our solution became VERY CLEAR.

BRING EVERYTHING TO THE BASICS.

A week passed, I got a call from John today with some good news and some bad news…
BAD NEWS: The turbo had an oil leak and wasn’t pushing any boost. He asked me if I wanted him to rebuild it or if I should by another one. With next to no money, he insisted on letting him take it apart and try to replace the bearing with his t4 bearing in his spare. I’m stopping by tomorrow to check everything out.

The GOOD: This past week, he started by replacing the z32 MAF sensor with the stock SR one. Also, the Throttle Position Sensor was junk .(Good thing I bought one a while back ) Fixed those issues, as well as used his stock SR ECU and with the help of NISSAN DATASCAN, it ran perfectly. The brakes were also grinding in the rear because when I had done the conversion myself, there was a bolt on the back of the caliper that John was explaining to me was too tight. John took the rear calipers off, put everything back together, applied some brake cleaner and got the job done right. I love that dude!

As for the turbo, I might just have to get my money back on the 5lug hubs and get an Ebay turbo or find someone to trade a t3/t4 turbo for either my Wide Angle Knuckles, $200 paypal or my Enthalpy ECU.
With a week left until the drift event, it’ll be a tight squeeze. Very anxious. Thanks for reading!











Ohhh, I forgot to mention, I did get a couple freebies since last update. Shoutout to Lalo Pineda for letting my grab these Peak Performance Rocker Arm Stoppers. I was really impressed on the quality of these. They look Georgeous. Also I was given an RC motor, ESC, Servo, receiver, and battery for the Little RC car.

[Shanevasquez]

Nice build. Glad you got it running. When the 5 lug going on the car?

[Suprareal]

Id really like to know where you got the hatch rc shell from?

[blades13.5]

Haha 2015 Update!!! lol. Couldn't keep you guys waiting for too long!
Lets see if I can remember. Ohh yeah...
So the Turbo finally blew up, and the Sr20 never ran right, so instead of waste any more bullshit time or money on this bullshit motor, We scrapped it, Onevia_drift (Jake Shaw) built a Ka24de(t) which i inherited just as I moved to Los Angeles and started College. Days before I left my wife divorced me, all my tools were stolen, my front 5 lug hubs and knuckles as well as some other shit. It took awhile for me to get them back. The KAT was completely built, lowered compression, fully blueprinted, w/ almost everything to go turbo including a Nistune ECU. Purchased w/ 5 miles on it.
[WARNING: Post is gonna be HEAVY Pic saturated, and more event oriented rather than build due to the duration of time elapsed and took to write, upload and organize everything. ]
Lets start with the last pics of the SR:



Pics of the KA…






The Chassis had been sitting for awhile...



The car finally felt wonderful again! It had been 5 long years of waiting for her to wake up but the wait was worth it, and at last, I have my car again!
Friends held a celebration BBQ the day I left:



So There I left for College down in LA with everything I owned in my 240, to go design some cars, hopefully for Nissan.
It was down here in LA I met some pretty cool people!


Yep thats Thad from Blue Mountain State!


San Fernando Valley: (Panda Meet)



Of course exhaust fell off so I picked up this kickass one for $35 which i was pulled over for the very next day to get an out of state ticket which later led to my case being dismissed because the judge(in her 50’s) at one point owned a 240Z and said they were cool cars! hahaha. Awesome day! Ohh and picked up some 5lug wheels!




Then I moved down to Westminster:

I even tried starting a Youtube channel/FB/IG for S-Chassis where I interviewed people at Formula D Long Beach, and even built an Rb20 Coupe! You can add on YT/FB: S-chassis Weekly!





I did some performance restoration mods like pads, gear fluid, etc and gutted the back end.



but… even though everything was looking up I was still mighty depressed about the divorce, and would occasionally run the togue mountain passes to refocus myself and relax which one night did not end too well…

So we put in work.









My passenger and I were ok, The car for the most part was fine, (Frame damage forward the tension rod bracket. Steering rack messed up etc.. My neighbors and I who had become really good friends helped me pull everything back close to straight but there were slight separations in small sections of the strut tower tack welds and i knew i was being picky but i wanted to make sure the car would withstand some serious abuse without damaging the integrity of the vehicle So… I decided to Tube Frame the front end!!!!








So I painted it blue to prevent rust and installed the 5 lug hubs and wheels finally:







Before the inevitable, I picked up a 3 row FD Radiator from Slide Garage in Santa Anna as well as a hood, fender, and front bumper from the junkyard.
(Which had to be carried on the roof of my car Annnnd eventually my finances forced me to return back to Fresno, where I got some good seat time!








Where I found a job.. and began piecing everything together. Like the bumper. Rocket Bunny!! FTW )))))) And a Sweet Vmount intercooler. to complete the setup.



At this point I was still driving without a hood/fender or front bumper because brackets hadn’t yet been welded to support the fenders/bumper/hood. (about 5 months) It was a miracle I wasn’t pulled over! Remember this Is my daily. One day it even rained!




So I picked up the hood latches, the powered by max swirl pot and brought it to Caged in Caged out in Fresno to complete the front end as well as a few other items.
He rounded off the edges, reenforced the strut towers, completed a bunch of unfinished welds, and welded these pretty neat fender mounts!
This is it as it sits now:





So as of now I’m still waiting for the tube front end to be completed. Were setting it up V-mount style, doing a bash bar, most likely a cage, and turboing it as we speak!! (Its been almost a year and a half since the KA has been dropped in!) Hate to leave everyone on such a huge cliffhanger but thats all i’ve got as of this moment so… I promise to update this atlas within the next couple years!

[blades13.5]

If anybody is reading this still, here's a quick update on the build. Most of the front end is complete already. Main hoop of Rollcage is welded in but don't have pics at the moment.

Here's what I do have
(Too many images on last post so this pic was moved to this message.)









Cage pics coming soon!

[blades13.5]

Pics of the Cage build so far:

Main hoop and harness bar:

[blades13.5]

Picked up some temporary seats for cheap.



As well as this hood scoop we'll be modifying to vent air out from the hood.



Another update to the Cage:



Vmount progress:

[ixfxi]

how oh how did this all go so wrong...

[blades13.5]

Originally Posted by ixfxi

how oh how did this all go so wrong...

All it takes is one SR20.

[DEZCA]

Hey keep your head up! Looks like a bitchin build man! Cen Cal Represent! Im in Visalia for now. Just came from a 2 year journey from japan. Looking to get into a 240sx. Have my chaser sitting, waiting for the day it can come here.

[ixfxi]

Ugh. How did this:


Turn into this:


and also divorced? I dunno bud. I'd slow down on the car shenanigans. Slow your roll.

[Jibbberish]

^Everybody's a critic. Including me cause I agree completely. Lol but shit happens. Gotta respect the passion and perseverance with this one though. Surprised that SR never got going properly. Interested to see where it goes from here, the car definitely still has potential.

[blades13.5]

Mmmm. To each their own. Cars pretty much completely built top to bottom, it drives fantastic, and there not that many more things I can do to make it that much better. Could care less on the looks atm.

I really admire the fabrication work involved in tube fronts, cages, bashbars etc and have wanted to get it done for years. The crash was just the motivation to get all the Fabwork out of the way before making it look pretty. Cool rims and flashy paint jobs are not the heart of this build and neither is retaining a stock car. It's just me. You've got your own tastes, and that's great. But I'd rather build it from the inside out get the bug stuff out of the way and get it looking good later. Slow roll isn't how I do things. I do everything to the fullest.

In February I've got my first track event, so that's pretty exciting at Grange. Got a lot of practice to do.

[ixfxi]

Originally Posted by Jibbberish

^Everybody's a critic. Including me cause I agree completely. Lol but shit happens. Gotta respect the passion and perseverance with this one though. Surprised that SR never got going properly. Interested to see where it goes from here, the car definitely still has potential.

yeah, that kinda happens when you post a fucking build ONLINE for the entire world to see, you get criticism. and i'm not trying to be a dick, because trust me.. i have no problem saying things.

all i can say is that when you compare the first and last photos, you cant help but cringe at how fucked up things got. even with the crash, if you set aside the time and money to have the car properly repaired at a body shop... maybe you'd be back to square one. if that wasnt even part of your agenda, then fine.

imagine how many cars on the road would be driving around with mad max style tube fronts just because of a fucking bender. gimme a break.

[Jibbberish]

I dig the tube front I think it was the right way to go and it was well executed. Once the front end and the v-mount are together this car will be tits.

[collegekid]

First and foremost, props to stickin with it. Honestly, I respect the perserverance and the fact that you didnt give up on the car.

Yeah you did some shit that I wouldnt have done to my car but boo whoo its not my car.

Mike, it was a little too savage with dragging his personal life into it.
There aren't many true car enthusiasts left let alone people who know how to change oil/ a spare tire, for the people who actually give a damn about cars can we not take out aggression on each other?


If you think I'm suggesting we all hold hands and sing kumbaya , eat my turtle shit.

[ikennrockdis]

the build isn't done yet, in most cases everyones s chassis get fucked up in one point unintentionally from how clean from the beginning. unless "cos drift car" which is obviously the direction this build is going.

[ixfxi]

Originally Posted by collegekid

First and foremost, props to stickin with it. Honestly, I respect the perserverance and the fact that you didnt give up on the car.

Yeah you did some shit that I wouldnt have done to my car but boo whoo its not my car.

Mike, it was a little too savage with dragging his personal life into it.
There aren't many true car enthusiasts left let alone people who know how to change oil/ a spare tire, for the people who actually give a damn about cars can we not take out aggression on each other?

i have no beef with the dude. when you post your projects online, you open yourself up to criticism. and not everyone sees things the same way.

as for the divorce, relationships come and go - no need to get all feelings. in the end, marriage is just a piece of paper. cars and builds are all about the life, time and stories that occur in between. my point was not to kick the dude while down, it was to simply say that maybe, just maybe... he had his priorities mixed up. maybe not. he doesnt need to publicly defend himself, either. but... when people ask why my project has taken over a decade, i can tell you straight up that marriage is one of the big reasons. because in the end, it comes down to balancing work, play, and your responsibilities.

if this IS indeed a community, it would be ill advised to watch people do stupid shit, make mistakes, and *not* speak up.

one thing i will say, if you guys are this passionate about cars... then you should get a job in the industry. dont daily your project car, pickup a spare car (beater) and get a job doing weld, fab, suspension work, mechanic.. you name it. at least you'll channel your energy and make money at the same time. fuckin around in the streets crashing into mountain sides is going to drain you financially and fuck your life up with tickets or worse

[blades13.5]

Well dude. I'm certainly not "down" it may sound arrogant but with the cost of all the fab work I easily could have purchased 2 240's and had a trio, but I rather get this one nice. The reason someone called u out on the divorce comment was because it was based on a very large assumption. I'm not going to get into it, but she actually helped fund portions of this build and had plans of her own for it. Another words, the finances were never an issue. Your more than welcome to say whatever, but u may end up looking like an ass.

[ixfxi]

if only she funded the part of your build that did not involve smashing / tubing the front-end

[Jibbberish]

Originally Posted by ixfxi

if only she funded the part of your build that did not involve smashing / tubing the front-end

Christ lol it's a drift car with a tube front, get over it. It's not that outrageous.

[blades13.5]

Originally Posted by ixfxi

if only she funded the part of your build that did not involve smashing / tubing the front-end

I get it. You don't like tube fronts. I don't care.

Originally Posted by Jibbberish

Christ lol it's a drift car with a tube front, get over it. It's not that outrageous.

Thank you.

Cage update:




Door bars and gusset plates are next!

This right here is the mockup drawing I did a few months for the completed structure(paint will be done a bit differently.) cool to see the drawings coming to fruition.


Paint'll be more like this:

[blades13.5]

Somehow became a double post. <- for length

[blades13.5]

Originally Posted by DEZCA

Hey keep your head up! Looks like a bitchin build man! Cen Cal Represent! Im in Visalia for now. Just came from a 2 year journey from japan. Looking to get into a 240sx. Have my chaser sitting, waiting for the day it can come here.

Were you in the military? If so, thanks! Can't wait to see it? U got a pic of it?

[blades13.5]

Adventure cage update:



Slight modification to the door bar design


VMOUNT PIPING FINAL mockup

[blades13.5]

Door bars welded in place and dash put back in





Headlights and everything put back into place. These are pretty much just teaser pics. Hoping to have all the fab done this weekend! Got lots of surface rust to clean shortly after.